Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum merely stated his
affirmation of the Catholic Church's condemnation of contraception, but
CNN's Mary Snow ran a critical segment on Thursday citing liberal outrage and asking if such
statements would hurt him with voters.
In the video clips which aired in the report, Santorum strongly stated that he would not mix his opposition to contraception with his policies as president, meaning that he would not ban contraceptives. Nonetheless, Snow quoted the pro-abortion and pro-Democrat group Emily's List, as well as phoney-conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin, as slamming him asout-of-touch.
Just weeks before, Snow narrated a very one-sided report on the Komen versus Planned Parenthood controversy, clearly leaning toward Planned Parenthood’s side. Now she seemed to take issue with the pro-life Santorum, touting how he is “coming under criticism” for his anti-contraception beliefs.
“The fact that contraception is even being raised is drawing fury among groups like Emily's List,” Snow reported before noting that the group supports Democratic candidates. “It asks if this is the 2012 presidential election, or 1956, saying ‘It's hard for one extremist to stand out in today's GOP,’” she added of the group.
[Video below.]
Snow also quoted the Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin slamming Santorum’s beliefs as “mind-numbing.”
A transcript of the segment, which aired on February 16 around 5:29 p.m. EST, is as follows:
CANDY CROWLEY: Rick Santorum says he's proud to be a conservative and a Catholic. His politics and his religion are at the center of a controversy unfolding right now over his views on birth control. Mary Snow is looking into that for us. Hey Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN correspondent: Hey there, Candy. Well these comments Rick Santorum made were six years ago and are gaining attention. He's coming under criticism as a 2006 interview re-surfaces. But he insists his personal and public policy are not one and the same.
(Video Clip)
RICK SANTORUM, Republican presidential candidate: Wow.
SNOW: As he gains momentum in polls, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum's record comes under more scrutiny. And these remarks about contraception, made in a 2006 interview, have gone viral.
SANTORUM: From a governmental point of view, I support, you know, Title 10, I guess it is. And I have voted for contraception – although I don't think it works. I think it's harmful to women, I think it's harmful to our society.
SNOW: Washington Post conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin first posted the video, writing "The impression that Santorum finds the prevalent practice of birth control 'harmful to women' is, frankly, mind-numbing. If he meant to focus on teen sexual promiscuity, he surely could have, and thereby might have sounded less out of touch."
Santorum also brought up birth control in this interview in October with an evangelical blog site, saying he considered it an important public policy.
SANTORUM: One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before is that I think the dangers of contraception to this country, when the whole sexual libertine idea –
SNOW: But Santorum told CNN's Piers Morgan Wednesday that despite his personal beliefs, he would not support any law to restrict contraception.
SANTORUM: The issue is, as a public – as a public servant, how do I feel about the issue of contraception? It should be available.
SNOW: The fact that contraception is even being raised is drawing fury among groups like Emily's List, which promotes Democratic women candidates supporting abortion rights. It asks if this is the 2012 presidential election, or 1956, saying "It's hard for one extremist to stand out in today's GOP.” A new CNN/ORC poll finds 81 percent of Americans disagree with the notion that birth control is wrong. 77 percent of Catholics polled feel the same way. Could this issue hurt Rick Santorum? Republican strategist Mary Matalin says no.
MARY MATALIN, CNN political contributor: He was articulating the Catholic proposition on contraception. So that's his belief, he specifically said he would not – his policy position is not to ban birth control when this plays out. That can't hurt him.
(End Video Clip)
SNOW: Now this isn't the first time talk about contraception has come up in the Republican presidential campaign. You may have remembered a couple of months ago, Mitt Romney was asked about it in a debate about whether a state has the right to ban contraception. He remarked it was an unusual topic being raised, and he wound up saying in the end that contraception is working just fine, and in his words, "Leave it alone."
-- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center